any ideas on the best AND easiest way to make rail look rust colored. track is already laid. thanks ryan
I’m that you will probably get a lot of opinions on this. I use Polyscale Roof Brown for most of my track and Polyscale Rust for little-used spurs. I apply it with a 5/0 brush. Floquil also makes felt tip pen-type applicators in Rust and some other colors. I haven’t tried them but they look like a convenient option.
Joe
There is no best and there are no easy ways. However, I have tried the paint brush and that sort of works. Someone makes a paint roller. I have tried it a little, and I may learn to like it as well as the brush. I have not tried the air brush, but MR seems to like it. It looks like too much side mess to me. I can do a few yards at a time, and then it drives me crazy, though that is a short trip. I can see why many people never get their track weathered. So far I belong to that group. I will track this thread to see if someone thinks of an easy way.
It is all a matter of taste and preference in application. I have no experience with methods other than hand-painting using a small artist’s brush. I used Poly Scale “Railroad Tie Brown” which seems to vary from batch to batch. For the less used, rusty rails, I used Floquil’s ‘Rust’ in the small bottle. Note that the Railroad Tie Brown is water-based, while the Floquil product is oil-based.
As a tip if you elect to try “Rust”…I found it to be a bit on the thin side, and suggest you do two applications, or better yet, paint the rails first with a medium-dark brown, let it cure, and then swipe the sides with the “Rust”.
-Crandell
Whatever you use, it’s a really good idea to work with a drywall knife or something similar protecting the ties, unless you’re modeling the bottom of a downgrade used by frequent steam-powered trains.
In that case, just take a rattle can and spray everything with rust color, including ties, ballast and trackside vegetation…
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with lots of brake shoe residue)
When you’ve handlaid the track without modeling the tie plates, you may want to keep the drywall knife a few scale inches away from the rail so the paint might color the ties to stimulate tie plates. Or be a bit “sloppy” without the knife for a similar effect.
Mark
It is always best to paint the rail after the track is laid. After all, you’ll need to solder rail joiners and electrical leads which can’t be done over paint.
By the way, wipe the tops of the rails as you paint because while you paint the sides of the rail, some paint will slop onto the top. It’s much easier to remove paint when wet rather than dry.
Mark
Brush painting is even easier if you use the proper brush. I find that a flat 1/2" brush with fairly stiff bristles works best: the stiff bristles allow you to work the paint around the moulded-on spike details without too much effort, and the wider brush means fewer trips back to the paint bottle to reload the brush. I use PollyScale paints, stopping to wipe the railtops every 12’ or 15’, using a dry rag over my fingertip. Usually the tieplates will get a coat of paint at the same time, too, and once the track has been ballasted, any slip-ups are not noticeable.
Wayne
Hi!
My last layout (1993-2008) was the first one that I weathered the track and I did a lot of experimenting. The best results - in my opinion of course - was to use a “dirty” wash of brown/black and “slop” it over the ties. Every once in awhile I would touch the brush to a bit of paint (rust brown, flat black, dark grey), and then hit the wash and run over some more ties. The process went fast, and the ties really looked good - especially after ballasting.
For the rails, I used a long bristle fine brust and painted the sides in a similar manner, but hit the rust brown paint a little more often. And, one more thing, I did all this after the track and wiring were all in place and thoroughly tested.
On the new layout - now under construction - I will again use the same method for weathering the ties, but will use the new Floquil weathering color marker set for the rails. From what I have seen, this should be much easier to apply and the results are pretty good.
ENJOY,
Mobilman44
The best method I have come up with, and I have tried many, is to first tape off any thing you don’t want painted also note that you need to do all this before ballasting. Next either use an airbrush or rattle can in your choice of brown and spray the rails and ties. Next weather the ties to your choice of color, if you get a little on the rails, so what as long as it is not too much, I use an black IA wash for this and pick an occasional tie or two randomly to ink more or less. Last I paint the rails with an instant rust solution called Rustall, you could use something else, haven’t tried the pens and if they work well I may switch do to more control although sometimes more control is bad. Then I ballast and super detail, I.E. add oil stains dust weeds etc.
i had seen MR use a paint pins on the sides of the rail to give them a rusted look
I recently weathered my rails that were already in place (less ballast). Trying to keep it simple, I brushed on Rustoleum rusty metal primer on both rails and ties. I then took a piece of cork roadbed and lightly rubbed on some white pastel to fade the tops of the ties.
After the ballast was done, I rubbed on some black to simulate oil & grime in between the rails. A light sanding of 600+ grit sandpaper removed any paint from the tops of the rails.
I’ve seen better results with other methods, but I think it turned out pretty good considering the easy factor (and certainly better than no weathering):
In the photo below, I brush painted both the rails and ties with Polly Scale DRGW Freight Car Red. Then, I ballast. I paint about a foot of track, then wipe the railhead with a piece of paper towel. After ballasting, I give the track a quick pass with a Bright Boy.
For the washes I use Delta Creamcoat craft paints. The rust wash is Autumn Brown or Brown Velvet and the grimy black wash is Charcoal. I make the grime wash thicker then the rust wash. I don’t worry about cleaning the rust wash off the side of the rail, just the head.
Nick
You can also try this product:
I am in process of weathering my track also. See at http://www.fsmrrc.org/edmace.html
(1). I first cut thin strips of masking tape and used it on rail heads. (2). Then airbrushed with light gray.(3). Then I masked off every thing but the rails and tie plates.(4). Airbrushed with dark brown almost black and while paint still wet I brushed on Polly Scale Rust at random locations.(5). I then remove masking tape and used a raw umber wash on the ties enough of the gray shows through and highlights the grain in the ties.This system pretty well replicates track in my area.My 2 cents Ed
I just tried the Floquil weathering pens, which are fiber tipped with paint in the barrel. They work quite well and I will probably use them for my entire layout. The set has three colors, Rust, Tie Brown and Rail Brown. All three are very good color choices and I am using the Rust on sidings and the Rail Brown on the main lines. The paint goes on easily and can be controlled quite well. This is a great product and I will be buying more when these run out. I have even used two colors on the same rail, just waiting for the first color to dry. I hit the top of the rails with a Bright Boy after the paint is dry but you could wipe it off with a rag or paper towel and your finger tip. I like to let it dry and then I don’t take too much off the sides.
Hi, I use floquil’s tie brown paint in the spray can to weather my rail. The track was already laid when I painted it, however, ballast and other scenery was not yet installed. I let it dry for 10 or fifteen minutes then ran some 320 grit paper over the rails to shine them up. I’m pretty happy with the results. For any touch-ups I use the same paint in bottle form with a small brush.
I’m using nickle-silver rail.
I haven’t seen anything about cleaning the rails, where they are to painted, BEFORE they are painted, to remove any residue that might prevent the paint from adhering to the rail.
Any thoughts on this aspect?
Richard, I have used both water and solvent based paints on my N/S rails and have yet to wash them or to wish, subsequent to a plaint application, that I had.
-Crandell
I like Floquil railroad tie brown or roof brown, airbrush the non ballasted track of course and clean the tops of the rails with a brite boy. I use Floquil paint pens railroad tie brown here and there to simulate recently replaced ties and Floquil rust paint pen to hit the tie plates. Expect a little bleed over on to the ties which is ok as when the tie plates rust the ties do get rust colored to some degree. You can save a little money and buy paint pens in the crafts stores which have virtually the same colors as Floquil . Once the track is ballasted and weeds etc. are added It makes for a pretty convincing look.